Added to the pageantry of Opening Day on the North Side this year was the unveiling of the Ernie Banks statue outside Wrigley Field. But purists may be concerned to see Mr. Cub wearing an Under Armour shirt and holding a giant Best Buy shopping bag.

"Although we reserved the right to allow for tasteful advertising on the statue, we were careful to maintain the necessary discretion," said Cubs GM Jim Hendry. "For example, we decided dressing Ernie in Nike shoes would have been too much."

The infusion of advertising on the new statue may signal future changes coming in and around the ballpark. Cubs brass considering placing a Budweiser Select in the hand of the Harry Caray statue, while altering the foul poles honoring Jack Brickhouse to read, "Hey, hey! I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!"

From the April 2008 issue by Tim Butterly